Pillow-pak carrying case

ABSTRACT

Improved carrying case of two piece construction. The case includes four double pleated corners which provide structural stability.

United States Patent House] Oct. 30, 1973 PlLLOW-PAK CARRYING CASE2,746,581 5/1956 Ritter 190/41 z 2,258,942 10/1941 White et al... 190/412 [75 1 R'chard House" New 0P6, 2,672,962 3 1954 Keirsey 190 43 ssigneezt ti rod ts Co poration Emhom Trenton, NJ. Primary Examiner-Herbert F.Ross [22] 1972 AttorneyLeo Fornero et a1. 21 Appl. No.2 231,129

57 ABSTRACT [52/ 11.8. (11. 190/43, 190/41 2 I I 51 1m. 01. A451: 13/26Improved carrying case of two PieCe Construction The [58] Field 61Search 229/54 R, 54 c; case includes four double pleated comers whwh P190 43 41 R, 41 Z vide structural stability.

[56] References Cited 3 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures UNITED STATES PATENTSMensi l90/4I Z PATENTED UN 30 I975 FlG. 2.

IO M- FIG. 7A

PILLOW-PAK CARRYING CASE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thepresentinventionrelates to luggage and methods of constructing the same.Soft-sided luggage, and more particularly, soft-sided carrying caseshave been long known in the art. A typical carrying case is generallyconstructed around a wooden frame, approximately rectangular in shape,except for the corners, which are curved. The portion of the wood framewhich forms'the interior of the case is usually lined with a material.The outside of the case, which may be of leather, vinyl plastic orcanvas construction has already been formed into an envelope, into whichthe wood .frame is inserted. This insertion is accomplished byfirstcutting the frame in half to form two U-shaped members. On each legof one of these members, a metal frame plate is riveted. Both halves arethen inserted into the envelope and a special machine known to the art.is used to move both halves away from each other until they form theshape of the original frame. While being held in this position, bothlegs of the remaining U-shaped half are riveted to the adjacent metalframe plates, thus forming the completed case. Handles would then beapplied to the case in a rivet type operation. The wooden frame givesthe carrying case structural stability and provides the main supporttherefor. A wooden frame, however, increases the weight of the case; asan additional element in the manufacturing process, the frame alsoincreases the e of production.

The presentinvention eliminates the need for a wood frame and insteaduses two pieces of material which when joined together with a centerwelt, according to the methods of the present invention, produces athreedimensional case which is both light in weight and structurallystable.

Additionally, the cost and production time required to fabricate a woodframe for inclusion in a crryingcase is eliminated by the presentinvention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has certain beneficialfeatures, one of which is a method of construction which eliminates thenecessity for a wood frame. Another feature is the use of only twopieces of material to form a threedimensional case. Still anotherfeature is a case which is light in weight. A still further feature is amethod of construction which provides a large access opening whileretaining the items already .packed.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved carryingcase.

It is a further object of the present invention to pro vide astructurally stable three-dimensional case from only two pieces ofmaterial.

A still further object is to provide a carrying case which is light inweight and economical to manufacture.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, each of twopanels are prefabricated to provide for supporting corners, closuremeans, structural support binding, and carrying means. lBoth panels arethen joined along their edges to each other with their exterior faces injuxtaposition. The finished assembly is then inverted through the accessopening to form the completed carrying case.

THE DRAWINGS With the foregoing objects and features in mind, theinvention will be more fully understood by reference to the drawings,the accompanying detailed description and the appended claims.

FIG. 1 is a plan view ofa front panel used in the construction of thecarrying case of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a rear panel used in the construction of thecarrying case of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is .a perspective view of a carrying case constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the case of FIG. 3 inverted,showing internal construction.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the case of the present invention.

FIG. 5A is a section taken along line AA in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 is a partial top view of the case of the present inventionshowing internal corner construction.

FIGS. 7 and 7A show a typical panel corner during its formation.

FIG. 8 shows the contour of the panel of FIG. 1 with the front profileof the finished case superimposed thereon.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring .now to the drawings, thecarrying case of the present invention may be constructed of any pliablecost material such as leather, vinyl plastic, or canvas. FIG. 1 shows apanel 10 which has been precut, notched and superficially marked asindicated in the drawing. The foregoing may be done either manuallyusing a pattern with the use of a cutting die which in an automatedoperation, would cut and mark similar panels from a source of material.The panel has corners indicated generally as l4, 16, 18, and 20. Eachcorner has pleat marks a, b, c, and d which are, in the construction ofthe case, aligned in a manner to be described shortly hereafter.

Referring to FIG. 8, a front profile of the finished case has beensuperimposed on panel 10. The case will typically have a finished lengthl, a finished height h and .a finished width w. In FIG. 8, themeasurement indicated by s represents one-half the finished case widthor w/2. Therefore, panel 10 will have an over-all length l 2s and anover-all height h+ 2s. Each corner of panel 10 is an arc of a circlehaving its center on a line 11 which bisects the angle formed betweenthe sides of panel 10. It has been found by the inventor, that locatingnotch b at the intersection of line 11 and each corner arc; notches nand c at the respective tangent points of the arc and notch d'a distancep away from notch 0 will produce a pleated corner that exhibits only aslight degree of sharpness. An examination of the geometricrelationships will show that p= s v7. If desired, the location of thenotch marks a, b, c and d can be varied, resulting in a different degreeof sharpness at each finished corner. This of course-is an aestheticconsideration which will be determined by the desired size and shape ofthe constructed case.

Panel 10 includes location areas 22 and 24 to each of which are attachedthe corresponding parts of handle 23 (FIG. 3). Handle 23 may typicallybe fabricated from a webbing material. An access opening is shownindicated generally as 27 and the closure means shown as zipper 29.Alignment marks e,f, g, and h are located around the periphery of panel10 and aid in the alignment of panel 10 to panel 30 (FIG. 2). Side panelwebbing strips 40 and 41 (FIG. 3) are attached to the panels at areas 28(FIG. 1) and 38 (FIG. 2) respectively and are used to define the bottomof the case and lend structural stability thereto.

Referring now to FIG. 2, panel 30 includes corners 13, 15, 17, and 19.Each corner includes pleat marks a, b, c, and d. Areas 32 and 34 serveto locate the position of handle 33 (FIG. 3) when the latter is attachedto the panel. Alignment marks e,f, g, and h are located around theperiphery of panel 30 and are aligned with the corresponding marks ofpanel 10 when both panels are joined together during construction.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, in a typical manufacturing operation,both panels are prefabricated by first cutting and notching them to thedesired size and shape. Specifically, access opening 27 is cut and areas22, 24 and 28 are spotted on panel 10; areas 32, 34 and 38 are spottedon panel 30. Pleat marks a, b, c, d and a, b, c, d are notched on eachcorner of the respective panels.

In a typical manufacturing operation, handle 23 is sewn on panel 10after being placed on location areas 22 and 24. A similar operation isperformed in attaching handle 33 to panel 30. Zipper 29 is sewn to thepanel along access opening 27. Side panel webbing strips 40 and 41 aresewn onto the panels and perform the dual function of defining the casebottom to give the case structural stability and of sealing off the endsof the access opening where zipper 29 has been attached.

The final step in the prefabrication of panels 10 and 30 is theformation of each of the corners. Referring to FIGS. 7 and 7A, this isaccomplished on panel 10 by first aligning mark b with mark d to form afirst pleat. Mark a is then aligned with mark to form a second pleat andthereby complete the formation of the corner. A line of stitching is runalong the edge of the panel and through the corner to hold the latter inits folded position. In FIG. A, a flat portion 50 has been formed on thecase bottom at corner 18. Similar surfaces are formed at the case top atcorners l4, l6, and at the bottom at corner 20 and provide shape andstructural stability for the case (54, 56, 58 in FIG. 3). Panel 30 isprefabricated in a manner similar to panel i.e.,

at each corner, mark b is aligned with mark d and mark a is aligned withmark 0. Each corner is then finished with a line of stitching. Flatsurfaces 62, 64 (FIG. 3) 66, 68 (not shown) are formed at each corner atthe top and bottom portions of the case. i

In joining the prefabricated panels together, panels 10 and 30 areplaced with their exterior faces juxta posed and with marks e, f, g, andh in alignment with marks e,f, g, and h. A piece of welting (FIG. 3) isplaced between theinterior edges of both panels and the operator thensews all three members together around the entire periphery of thepanels. If desired, a binding may be applied to finish off the weltseam.

The operator then inverts the case through the access opening to formthe completed case.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to aspecific embodiment, it will be appreciated by a person skilled in theart that a wide variety of changes may be made without departing fromthe scope of this invention. Additionally, certain features may be usedindependently of others and equivalents may be substituted for theelements, all within the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A carrying case comprising two rectangular pieces of pliablematerial, each piece having pleats at each corner to form sides and top,bottom and end sections, said top, bottom and end sections extendinggenerally perpendicularly from the respective side, means for securingsaid pleated corners in folded condition, said pleats providing shapeand structural stability to said case, said sections being generallyone-half the width of said case, adjacent top, bottom and end sectionsof respective pieces secured together along the entire interiorperiphery of adjacent sections to form said case, a welt positionedaround the periphery between adjacent respective sections, an opening inat least one side of said pieces providing access to the interior ofsaid case and closure means for said opening.

2. The carrying case of claim 1 wherein the means for securing saidpleated corners is stitching.

3. The carrying case according to claim 1 wherein handles are providedone each attached to the sides of said case.

1. A carrying case comprising two rectangular pieces of pliablematerial, each piece having pleats at each corner to form sides and top,bottom and end sections, said top, bottom and end sections extendinggenerally perpendicularly from the respective side, means for securingsaid pleated corners in folded condition, said pleats providing shapeand structural stability to said case, said sections being generallyone-half the width of said case, adjacent top, bottom and end sectionsof respective pieces secured together along the entire interiorperiphery of adjacent sections to form said case, a welt positionedaround the periphery between adjacent respective sections, an opening inat least one side of said pieces providing access to the interior ofsaid case and closure means for said opening.
 2. The carrying case ofclaim 1 wherein the means for securing said pleated corners isstitching.
 3. The carrying case according to claim 1 wherein handles areprovided one each attached to the sides of said case.